Kiss Me
by demon4665
Summary: A young Shadowhunter, Raven, thinks she is as deep in love as is possible. When a hunt brings her to reality, she goes mad. This is a generally short story. The Shadowhunter concept and a few locations are from the Mortal Instruments series, but this story does not contain any actual characters from the books.


a/n- I am knew to all this and would love to have feedback! I hope you enjoy my first story!

Raven sat on the edge of her bed in the Institute with her stele. She had just finished carefully drawing her usual runes on her skin with her stele to improve her stealth, balance, and to make her invisible to mundanes. She could never believe that someone could be _so_ human that they couldn't see through glammours, but apparently mundanes were _that_ human. She loaded her belt with seraph blades and pulled her black jacket on. She glanced at herself in the tall mirror. She was a small, slim girl with short, dirty blonde hair. She looked strong and powerful in her usual black shadowhunter gear she preferred for demon hunting. Her face was extremely composed, as usual, despite her excitement.

She loved the feeling of the hunt. The adrenaline pumping through her as she fought for her life against the creatures that came from out of God's armpit gave her a thrill that she loved. Today's hunt was going to be extra special. It was her birthday and her best friend, Tara, who knew how much she loved a good hunt, had found a place outside the city with a rogue vampire terrorizing it. Tara was going to take her to the outskirts of the city for Raven's version of a party.

* * *

When she finished descending the steps of the cathedral, she found, to her surprise, Conrad waiting for her. Despite the fact that she was shocked to find him out here this late, she plastered on a composed smile. She neviier let anyone see through her, though sometimes she thought that she was open to his eyes. Like an open book. It planted a strange fear in her. She wasn't quite sure why. "What are you doing here," she asked curiously. The boy rolled his hazel eyes at the question before responding with, "I live here now too, remember?"

It was true. They used to live in the same apartment building which is where their parents had met. They had become good friends easily, seeing that they both were shadowhunters in a world of mundanes. About three months ago there had been a demon attack on the building. It was a random attack, but it left the apartments uninhabitable from the fire. After that they had been forced to move to the nearby Institute with another shadowhunter family who runs it. The Lightwood family was welcoming, but it still was not as good as home. Then again they no longer had a home.

The memory pained her. _Don't remind me_ she thought to herself, but you could never have seen it through the perfect mask she held tightly to her face. All she said was, "I meant, why are you _out here_?" She gave him an impatient, yet amused look as she waited for him to answer. He stared into her eyes. Was that longing she saw in his gaze? She ignored it. "I…just wanted to wish you a happy birthday. Have fun, and say hi to Tara for me." She could tell that it was not what he originally wanted to say by the pained look on his face. It looked as if he had lost all his courage to complete his mission. She brushed it off and said, "Thanks. Good night Conrad." He was hunched a little as he marched up the steps.

* * *

"Hey! Are you excited? Fifteen years old," Tara let spill out as soon as she saw her. "Yeah! Tonight's going to be so much fun," she replied as Tara ran over to her. She pulled a small, flat, silver box out from behind her back. "Happy birthday! I thought you might like to use it tonight," she squealed with excitement. Raven opened the box carefully to find a glittering knife. It was shaped like a narrow leaf. The "stem" was short and wide with curves at the base, so you could put it just between your middle fingers. She wedged the stem-like handle in between her middle and ring fingers, holding her hand in a fist. It felt comfortable in her grip. "It is made of pure silver." Raven repressed shock at how hard it must have been for Tara to get her hands on it. "Fancy," was all she said.

* * *

They had to walk a few miles to reach their destination seeing that neither of them could drive. The walk was pleasant though. They had a lot to talk about and kept conversation going. "So…how's James?" Raven rolled her eyes at the question before replying, "He's doing well." Tara just stared at her annoyed. "You know that's not what I meant," she spat out. "I don't think I do," Raven replied sarcastically. Tara, clearly wishing she didn't have to explain the obvious, said, "How is your guys' relationship?! Come on Rav tell me everything!"

"Well tomorrow night we have a date! I'm so excited! We are going to a movie, and then I suggested that we have a midnight picnic in the Institute's green house! I want to show him the flowers that bloom at midnight," she said in a rush. Tara blushed for Raven and sighed out, "Awww. That is so cute! Have you talked to him lately?" Raven nodded. "Well…what romantic things did he say?" She couldn't help but give a giggle. "Well, the other day I was upset so he said something really funny. He said-"

"I don't want to hear funny! He says funny stuff around me, too. All I care about is the romantic stuff," she said interrupting. Raven decided to give her what she wanted, so she told her, "He told me how much he loved me of course. He said he loved me more than anything else in the world, and that I was his blessing." It was true. He really had said it all, and it made Tara swoon as much as Raven had wanted to at the time.

Raven truly loved him. Whenever she was on a hunt, he was her motivation. She constantly thought about James. Many of her friends and family had tried to tell her that he was bad news. They thought he would break her heart. She never believed them. He was so good to her. She was head over heels in love with him, and she didn't know what she'd do without him. They were quiet in thought for the next ten minutes of the walk until they came to an abandoned sugar factory.

* * *

The vampire had taken out three mundanes in the past two days and Raven was surprised another shadowhunter hadn't taken care of it already. Well it was her gain. They entered the building and pulled out their witchlight rune stones to provide them light. There was an obvious trail of blood as if the vampire had been dragging a bleeding body through the building. Tara slid the toe of her boot across the trail, smearing the blood. "It's fresh," said Raven in no surprise. That makes four in two days.

They followed the trail through the first floor silently. When they reached the back of the factory, they spotted their target feeding on the barely living boy. The boy was only about twelve by the looks of it, which certainly matched the vampire's victim profile. They came up behind the vampire as it was feeding. It dropped the lifeless boy to the ground and pivoted to face them. Its mouth dripped with fresh blood. It was a truly revolting sight, but it did not faze either of the girls.

It ran at them head on, but they were too fast. They moved out of the way just in time. Raven slashed at the vampire's throat, but didn't do much damage. The thing fell to the ground from impact. Tara thought she had enough time to pull out a larger blade, but she under estimated the speed of the vampire. It regained its footing and shoved her into the wall knocking her unconscious.

Right when it was moving to feed on her, Raven made a move to catch its attention. "Hey! Bloodsucker," she shouted angering the monster. It turned and charged the girl. She could tell it was newly born from its unusual amount of strength. The human blood helped it remain extra strong as well. She got a few swipes of her knife in before it caught her against the wall, using her own force against her. Her knife was a few inches from its neck. Her adrenaline was pounding through her veins. She felt the drum beat of her heart in her head and stomach.

She thought she was going to die, though she didn't let it show on her face. If she was going to die it would be with dignity. Then she remembered James telling her he loved her. It was her reason to fight on and to live. He told her to be careful last time they had talked. He told her to make sure she came out of this alive. "For you James. I will fight for you," she whispered even though the vampire filth was the only one there to hear it.

"Oh yes. I remember hearing about James," the vampire whispered to her with excitement in its voice. "What do you know of _my personal life _you bloodsucker," Raven spat in its face. It looked amused as it spoke, "Well it seems that the demon that attacked you at your previous address has something of an ancient rivalry with your family. After his attack failed, he decided to play some games with you. Let's just say he's something of a matchmaker. Your boyfriend and your good friend are a perfect match made in…well…certainly not heaven that's for sure!" It must have seen her composure break for a split second, because it laughed. "Bother you? I find it rather entertaining to see you squirm, especially over something as stupid as a boy!"

In that second she gained the strength to twist away from its grasp. She flipped the situation completely and gave the vile creature only enough time to give one more laugh before she decapitated it, spilling its filthy demon-infected blood everywhere. Raven raced over to Tara and shook her awake. "Are you alright," she asked her friend worried. "I'm fine. Let's just go. I think I've had enough for one night," Tara replied. Raven agreed so she cleaned up their mess and left with a feeling of accomplishment, but in the back of her mind she still worried about what the demon had said.

* * *

When she arrived at the Institute, she rushed to her room and called James. She must have called fifteen times before racing out the door to find him. She couldn't help but think that he wasn't picking up because he was with someone else. She was scared and angry. She felt like she needed to kill something. On her way out she ran into a groggy Conrad who was surprised to see her rushing out again at two in the morning.

"Wow. Where are you going," he said in his surprise. She tried to get him out of her way by saying, "I'm just sort of mad right now. I need to go kill a demon or something." That didn't work at all. In a very worried tone he replied, "I don't think that's such a good idea. I mean, you aren't thinking straight, and it is late. You need sleep." She pushed past him. "No I don't," she said, but he grabbed her by the arm stopping her. "No. Don't go. With you like this it is not safe. Please stay here for me so I know you will be safe." She yanked away from his grasp and darted down the hall.

* * *

"Where is he," demanded Raven. "Where is who," Tara asked confused. "James! Where is James? I know you spoke to him when you got back. You always do to tell him I'm alright," she growled in frustration. Tara looked shocked by Raven's tone. It was obvious something had happened. "He said he was heading over to Bey's," Tara replied to keep out of the line of fire. Bey had always been a good friend to Raven. They didn't get to see each other much, but they were good friends. Bey even knew Raven's secret, because she had saved Bey's life. Raven flushed as her eyes stung with tears threatening to pour. It was not often that this happened. She felt as if she couldn't control herself. This is not how her body normally worked. She never flushed or cried. Her hands shook uncontrollably against her will. She had to regain her usual composure.

* * *

Her _mendelin_ still held a thick black line at the edge of her low black v-neck, making her invisible to the mundanes. She stormed out the door. It was a frigid night in New York, and the streets were empty. She made a beeline for Bey's house. When she reached the door she hesitated worrying she'd be seen before realizing that Bey might know about her but she was still a mundane. She carved an opening rune on the door hastily, not worrying about perfection. She only cared about proving to herself that the bloodsucker was lying. The door slid open slowly. She closed it quietly and darted down the hall with grace.

She gave the cracked door a light nudge. Sure enough there they were with their bodies entwined in a kiss. Bey, who was in her green tank and skintight jeans, gave a giggle of satisfaction to the boy kissing her with more passion than Raven had ever seen. She knew it was James, dressed in his favorite t-shirt and jeans, entwined with the girl, but she hardly recognized him. Raven drew closer to the boy. When she reached where his head was, she saw the familiar angle of his cheekbones and the curve of his lips. Her heart sank as she brushed a piece of his black hair off of his face. Ever so gently she stroked his cheek as the tears poured from her eyes like a silent, unexpected storm. This time he noticed, and jerked halfway from the other girl to turn to look by the bed, clearly startled.

Raven backed up from the side of the bed and out of the room, barely containing a sob. As she cleared the corner of the street, she pulled out the pictures of them that she always carried and a lighter. More tears dripped down her cheeks as the glow of the burning paper mirrored off her eyes, and her sorrow turned to a cold anger and hatred. Her feet carried her quickly away from the site. She didn't know where, but she ran with no intent to stop anytime soon.

* * *

She no longer felt cold. She no longer felt anything. She was numb. He had never kissed _her_ like that before. All feeling had been replaced by sorrow and a white hot hatred that burned the last pieces of her shattered heart to a black ash. She slowed to a stop. She stood in front of the Hunter's Moon. She stormed in and attacked the first werewolf that came her way, slitting her throat with the silver-leaf knife Tara had given her. She had done it so quickly and quietly that she had stabbed another in the heart before anyone noticed.

They swarmed her in a fit of cutting and slashing. She was too quick for them with her mark from the stealth rune she had burned on her shoulder that day. Half of the wolves in the bar were dead. The floor had become a pool of blood. It felt good to kill. To slash with the knife so comfortably calmed her nerves. Every cut, scrape, and bruise sent a feeling of electricity through her cold body. All she could think about was James. How could he have done this to her? She loved him, and he had told her he loved her "more than anything in the world," and she had believed him. How could she have been so stupid?

She had just cut down a teenage girl when she saw someone familiar walk through the door. It was Conrad. She froze for a moment, brought back to reality. She heard a small gasp escape from her mouth. A white hot pain burned the middle of her back. She saw him running towards her and shouting her name. Black spots began to fill her vision as she crumpled to the ground. Conrad reached her and fell to his knees, pulling her head into his lap.

Tears streamed down his face. He had never hidden his emotions from her and never had to. She pressed the blade into his hand, motioning for him to keep it, and heard him whisper something to her as her breathing became ragged. "Raven, don't leave me. Please." He whispered the words from before again. She realized what he was saying. "I love you," he whispered once again and kissed her lips lightly as her hand went limp in his.


End file.
